Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, Post 1

We as humans attribute many of the causes to success on innate ability. One person is always more talented, smarter, or bigger. This is the reason they succeed. In Outliers, a very different approach is taken. It takes the stance that this assertion is wrong; that much of success can be traced back to opportune timing, extreme preparation and practice, and sometimes even the month that you are born. Malcolm Gladwell, an author of three other bestselling novels and a staff writer for The New Yorker, is the author. Gladwell published and released the book in 2008 in New York City. The book was written to give a well rounded, factually accurate basis for the explanation of success; the cover is subtitled “The Story of Success”. Gladwell has seen time and time again the success of others be attributed to innate talent, and his purpose was to disprove the weight that society places on this factor. The book was written for the many people who fail to analyze success through the facts, but instead hold on to common societal beliefs. The most effective rhetorical devices that are used include appeals to logos and the use of anecdotes. Malcolm Gladwell has a style of including a variety of seemingly unlike descriptions and somehow, almost magically, tying it all together. In this way, he is very effective in accomplishing his purpose because the reader is always both surprised and compelled by the evidence he presents.